numisworld

Hi there. I'm not terribly well schooled in matters of religion so I'd appreciate it if I could get some guidance on where I could read up on a particular line of thought that has been preoccupying me lately.

Here are a few of my thoughts on some basic religion questions:

- I believe that religion is a fantasy created entirely by mankind to help him understand himself and organize his world;
- I am quite certain that all people need a degree of fantasy/imagination to help them stay sane and for some it comes structured as a religion. For others, it is simply a set of unsubstantiated assumptions and stories that help them find purpose to their lives and come to terms with their world.
- Beyond simply staying sane, I suspect that fantasy helps people perform at a higher level and contribute more to the human race; I suspect that without it we'd all go nuts;
- By helping man understand himself and organize his world, religion possibly serves a social good;

In other words, for a non-religious person like me this is creating a context by which I could possibly embrace religion. It's an entirely manmade fantasy but in fact a good one that helps us all get along.

I am sure that many have come to such a non-divine justification for religion before me. Does this approach have a name? Can anyone suggest some related reading material?

I came to this line of thinking by observing my three year old girl. It's very clear to me that her playful fantasy is crucial to her understanding of the world. Time and again I hear her working out her issues and concerns through play fantasy in a manner which seemingly entirely her own creation. While she doesn't fear death or question her place in the world (yet!) she very clearly invests her fears (losing parents, being left alone) in imaginary monsters etc... She needs her monsters and she needs her stories in order to understand her world. If she didn't have these she would go nuts. I think it is the same with adults.

Thanks. Any help would be appreciate. [email protected]

GermanHeretic

I mostly agree with you, though I won't state that fantasy is a prerequisite of staying sane. In some cases fantasies are an indicator of an insane mind, esp. when one beholds his fantasies as reality.

Well religious people do behold their fantasies as reality - worse, as truth (absolute).

I have no idea if this assessment is actually called something, and I can't think of some applicable literature right now, but it is a kind of psychological explanantion of religon, so if you google for that, you might get some hits of what you're looking for.

Julian

Two problems with your theory: Atheists are quite sane and religion is to blame for more wars and suffering than anything else ever invented. The idea that religion is a social good is pretty far removed from reality. Nothing will split a society or a family faster than religion. Nothing generates hate faster or more thoroughly than religion. Remember 9/11? Bosnia? The crusades? Carcasonne? And on and on...

Julian

Ellis14

hi numisworld, interesting post. welcome to IIDB, feel free to drop by the Lounge to introduce yourself.

Heathen Dawn

An advocate of the Royal Lie position. Plato would be your man.

hinduwoman

But your daughter is a child and that is the point.
In the infancy of civilization man needed religion for various reasons. How long are we going to be childish, instead of rational critical adults?
Until godlovers have bombed the planet back to barbarism?

premjan

the problem is what oxymoron pointed out in an earlier post: there is an old brain (ritualistic, obsessive, emotional) and a new brain (critical, rational, analytical) and the two don't talk to each other very well. Religion is basically fixational (ok one or two religions are semi-rational), focussing maximizing brain function by improving motivation. Critical thinking is a low-passion activity, so the problem is improving the injection of the necessary motivational chemicals into the rational-enquiry parts of the brain. How to get your fix and have it too.

Heathen Dawn

Why must everything have a scientific explanation?! :frustrated:

premjan

sorry, I will curb myself. It wasn't really as scientific as it sounds, just full of good jargon.

dado

mine is two, i totally understand where you're coming from. the thing is, we do this in technical fields as well - only there we call it "simulation". but it's exactly the same thing: make up an artificial world with artificial rules that mirrors some aspect of the "real" world and then...see what happens.

certain questions are unanswerable and will always be with us, creating a personal mythology to give those questions a concrete conception strikes me as a very sane way to approach things. the problems come if the fantasy starts being confused for the reality.